Pros

Look’s Good

Cons

Lacks in Power

55

Mazda Protegé5 Review —
Generally, the Mazda Protegé5 is an all-around decent looking, economical, car; that is, if you’re into hatchback, 4 cylinder automobiles. Looks wise, at the time that it was built/sold—even now—the Mazda Protegé5 looks good, from its front front-end to its back-end, and as you walk around this car, you can easily pinpoint its unique styling; with its distinct huge fog lamps, which swallows fog in one whole shot. The back is nice too; with its robust bumper and slick door design. Interior wise, I can say that the Mazda Protegé5’s passable; they didn’t exaggerate too much on the detail of the interior, but at the same time they didn’t leave anything out. Furthermore, on the down side, the Mazda Protegé5’s engine lacks its edge, vigor, and thrust to fulfill the true driving experience—handling is good—but the Mazda Protegé5 just lacks in power, with it’s 134hp engine, I think it is. My point is, if you’re looking for a car with some balls, then this car won’t be suitable for you, unless you put some balls into it, but if you’re looking for an economical, city to country family car, with a sexy, youthful look, then this car is for you.

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2003 Mazda Protege5 4 Dr STD Wagon
Review

2003 Mazda Protege5MazdaProtege520034 Dr STD Wagon

Appearance:

Performance:

Quality:

Overall:

155

Pros

Reliability and handeling

Cons

Lack of a fifth gear

115

Mazda Protege 5 —
This car is probably one best cars I have ever bought. It's a Japanese car so the reliability is second to none. I got the sport automatic (wife not a fan of manual gear boxes) so you can get the revs up into the power band. I only wish it had a fifth gear.

Pros

Everything

Cons

Nothing

45

P5 Best Car Ever —
Awesome in every way. Great selection of aftermarket everything. Turbo helps with the get-up-and-go!
Practical, fun, good looking, cheap, and it's a Mazda... What else could you want from a car?
Hope everyone gets a chance to drive one someday.

Pros

It's bright yellow and unique inside and out.

Cons

It's a four-cylinder.

35

The Little Yellow Bus. —
It's a mostly stock yellow short bus basically. I call it a
"SPORT WAGON". It is decently fast for a four cylinder.
It's great on gas and responds quickly. But, I am a
speed demon and like my cars fast. Too bad this one is
not so much.

Pros

looks, handling, practicality

Cons

stereo, hatchback, power

65

Mazda Protege5 —
Considering this is an entry level car, Mazda did a great job on it. For the life of the car I have never had anything break down on it. It was nicely styled and I received many compliments on it's looks. It had a nice and firm suspension and handled very nicely on the twisty roads. Power was average, but with the 5-speed manual, it was a lot of fun to drive. It handled all weather conditions well and had lot's of room to haul things and put smaller family members in. The interior was nicely designed; especially liked all the gauges in red. The biggest negatives about the car are the sound system (really could have used a better one), more power would have been nice, and a good looking coupe would have been a nice choice instead of a hatchback if it had been available, seeing as I really don't much care for the sedan styling.

Pros

handling, appearance

Cons

road noise

85

03 Mazda Protege 5 —
My '03 Mazda handles like a much higher-end car. Its quite tight and responsive, with surprising power for a 4-cylinder engine. The factory stabilizer bar really adds to its handling. The exterior is as sharp as it ever was. I have always liked the eye-catching design, and the Laser Blue Mica color is still one of my faves. As the car has aged a bit, I notice some of the interior finishes not holding up as well as they should. However, Mazda has done a great job in upgrading interior materials in their more recent models. A couple of annoying and potentially expensive things have popped up, i.e. a bum airbag sensor and a sprung seat belt latch. Other than that I have spent next to nothing on this car other than normal maintenance. For my next car I plan to upgrade either to the CX-7 or CX-9.

Pros

Looks, reliability, gas, control,

Cons

The clunk, OEM paint job

55

My P5 —
According to Fairbanks Mazda, i was the first Lazer Blue Protege 5 owner in South Florida. Now, years later and living in Vermont, i still have my P5 and love it with every new day.
This is my 5th Mazda and still proud. Never any issues, tons of mileage, and they all purr like a kitten. The reason for new Mazda's is the awesome looks and style. Though, have not plans to get rid of my P5 anytime soon....

Pros

Fast, stiff clutch, great handling, great brake, a real roof rack, it fits all my gear, good mpg

Cons

Rusting....... thats it

75

I Love My Little Speedy Yellow Car! —
I love this car. It's fast enough to get my kicks in and
it can hold ALL my guitar equipment so its just the
right size. It gets 27-40 mpg depending on how
aggresive I drive. Also the clutch is really stiff which I
love so much. It is rusting but I can't complain
because it still performs.

Pros

good cheap pretty reliable

Cons

not as solid as previous hondas

25

Does The Job. —
good car overall, although not holding up as well as the hondas I owned before. Two things that annoy me with this car are: why don't the doors close properly? If you try to close them normally they don't seem to click properly, so you end up having to slam the door. Why are the door locks on the top of the door? That's where your elbow goes. Drives well but its obviously not a sports car.

Pros

Handles great, fun to drive around town, very reliable (built in Hiroshima), cheap to run.

Cons

Needs a turbo like the Mazdaspeed Protege.

45

Mazda Protege5 —
Bought off lease, been great so far.
Very hard suspension for stock setup, planning to upgrade tires and suspension.
The engine really aches for the 5spd manual, but the 4spd auto has manumatic shift.
It's small and light, and very fun to run around in the city, but because of the 4sp, struggles a bit on farmside rural passing.
Planning to keep it till it dies as a winter car when I get something faster for the summer.
It's very cheap to run because of it's 2.0L engine and light weight, and maintenance is only a bit more compared to corolla/civics. Well worth it.

Reviews From Other Years

Zoom ZoomBy Guinness5

It is simply fun to drive. Tight corners, aggressive gearing, and low to the ground.
Not great for baby car seats or driving adults in the back seats. As the car aged, it got a little louder on the h...
Read More

My Mazda Protege 5By JHarrison123

First off, it is rated 4.8 stars out of 5 on Edmunds! They only had the car for two years, very rare and popular.
also if you read the reviews, you read how people regret selling their car.
The sti...
Read More